nearly indecent, offensive to the method that guided his mode of inquiry. But there was no time to investigate his thoughts. He had come here for a purpose.
Taking the empty plastic container from his pocket, Pete carefully leaned down to dip it in the water. He watched the figures in the pool warily. Hurriedly, he capped the bottle while making as little contact with the water as possible. Managing to get the cap on without getting his hands wet, he dried a few drips off the side of the container with his pant leg. It would have to do.
Out of sight of the watery slaughter, the area behind the bend in the slide was enjoying a moment of sanity. Liz had gotten the crying girl up and talking. Her black hair was matted with blood and she was shaky on her legs, but Liz had her moving slowly back under Slider Mountain.
“Come on, sweetie, you got this,” Liz said to the girl quietly. “We’re just going to move one step at a time, okay?” The girl whimpered, but moved a little faster. Bryan stood in a daze, rubbing his neck absently.
As soon as Pete had started to get used to the subwoofers’ pulsing beat, the music dropped out, revealing the sounds of the watery massacre. Dread dropped a cold chunk of pig iron into his gut.
“We have to go,” Pete said loudly. “Like right fucking now!” He moved quickly, trying to herd everyone back toward the locker room door. There could be hundreds of people infected, he thought, but kept the notion to himself for now. Liz looked backward warily as their group started to move a little faster. Pete could barely see the outline of the locker room door across the park from where he stood. The way was clear and they were headed in the opposite direction of the terrible shit behind them. Anywhere was safer than where they had been. Pete was still scared and jittery, but felt more in control on the move.
“The water is contaminated. It’s very important not to get into the water or otherwise get it on you,” Pete said loudly. Liz and Bryan both gave him blank stares, so he continued, “I can’t tell whether the infection goes through the skin or through mucous membranes. It kind of doesn’t matter, we just need to stay out of the water.” His speech elicited some nods from his party.
Movement became easier as they broke into a rhythm. Crying Girl was no longer crying and finally moving on her own, but Bryan was slowing down. A sudden fit of coughing erupted from the man and echoed through the dark room. Bryan doubled over in distress, his hacking cough getting worse.
“My throat, need water,” Bryan gasped before he started to cough again.
“Not this water!” Pete hissed. He slapped Bryan on the back a few times, remembering that he had done the same thing to Walter earlier today. Bryan shook his head, stifling another cough.
“Pete, up ahead,” Liz whispered, her voice wavering. He looked up.
Standing between their party and the door was a short, stocky figure. In the murky light of the water park, one could just make out pasty white legs and two floating orbs, disembodied eyes. The figure stared directly at them for a brief moment, blinked, and broke into a slow jog in their direction. Crying Girl was lucid enough to see doom coming for her and started to scream. She pushed past Liz and ran through the slide supports into the darkness. Liz looked like she wanted to follow, but Pete grabbed her arm.
“DON’T follow her. How do we get out of here?” he said, staring at Liz intently. There was no sense chasing the girl down when a threat was imminent. Pete felt something in his mind slip away. Maybe it was his conscience, he reflected grimly. These split second decisions for their survival were getting easier.
Liz looked surprised for a moment. Then she nodded nervously and answered, “The only exit on this side of the park is through the locker room. It’s locked but I have my keys.”
“We can’t make it without fighting that guy,” Pete responded. As the
Taking the empty plastic container from his pocket, Pete carefully leaned down to dip it in the water. He watched the figures in the pool warily. Hurriedly, he capped the bottle while making as little contact with the water as possible. Managing to get the cap on without getting his hands wet, he dried a few drips off the side of the container with his pant leg. It would have to do.
Out of sight of the watery slaughter, the area behind the bend in the slide was enjoying a moment of sanity. Liz had gotten the crying girl up and talking. Her black hair was matted with blood and she was shaky on her legs, but Liz had her moving slowly back under Slider Mountain.
“Come on, sweetie, you got this,” Liz said to the girl quietly. “We’re just going to move one step at a time, okay?” The girl whimpered, but moved a little faster. Bryan stood in a daze, rubbing his neck absently.
As soon as Pete had started to get used to the subwoofers’ pulsing beat, the music dropped out, revealing the sounds of the watery massacre. Dread dropped a cold chunk of pig iron into his gut.
“We have to go,” Pete said loudly. “Like right fucking now!” He moved quickly, trying to herd everyone back toward the locker room door. There could be hundreds of people infected, he thought, but kept the notion to himself for now. Liz looked backward warily as their group started to move a little faster. Pete could barely see the outline of the locker room door across the park from where he stood. The way was clear and they were headed in the opposite direction of the terrible shit behind them. Anywhere was safer than where they had been. Pete was still scared and jittery, but felt more in control on the move.
“The water is contaminated. It’s very important not to get into the water or otherwise get it on you,” Pete said loudly. Liz and Bryan both gave him blank stares, so he continued, “I can’t tell whether the infection goes through the skin or through mucous membranes. It kind of doesn’t matter, we just need to stay out of the water.” His speech elicited some nods from his party.
Movement became easier as they broke into a rhythm. Crying Girl was no longer crying and finally moving on her own, but Bryan was slowing down. A sudden fit of coughing erupted from the man and echoed through the dark room. Bryan doubled over in distress, his hacking cough getting worse.
“My throat, need water,” Bryan gasped before he started to cough again.
“Not this water!” Pete hissed. He slapped Bryan on the back a few times, remembering that he had done the same thing to Walter earlier today. Bryan shook his head, stifling another cough.
“Pete, up ahead,” Liz whispered, her voice wavering. He looked up.
Standing between their party and the door was a short, stocky figure. In the murky light of the water park, one could just make out pasty white legs and two floating orbs, disembodied eyes. The figure stared directly at them for a brief moment, blinked, and broke into a slow jog in their direction. Crying Girl was lucid enough to see doom coming for her and started to scream. She pushed past Liz and ran through the slide supports into the darkness. Liz looked like she wanted to follow, but Pete grabbed her arm.
“DON’T follow her. How do we get out of here?” he said, staring at Liz intently. There was no sense chasing the girl down when a threat was imminent. Pete felt something in his mind slip away. Maybe it was his conscience, he reflected grimly. These split second decisions for their survival were getting easier.
Liz looked surprised for a moment. Then she nodded nervously and answered, “The only exit on this side of the park is through the locker room. It’s locked but I have my keys.”
“We can’t make it without fighting that guy,” Pete responded. As the
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